Sunday, 27 April 2008

What the Caked Crusader chose to bake to this week (26 April 2008)

I think I’ve mentioned before that, as a genuine rule, I’m not a fan of female singers often finding them too shrill or affected. The major exception – quite simply the best female singer ever – is of course the Queen of the Blues, Dinah Washington.

What I love about Dinah is her range. Her voice is a wonderful ball of contradictions: smoky, tart, smooth, rich, edgy and she’s just as fantastic whether barking out feisty lyrics or crooning the saddest love song you’ve ever heard.

Like many singers of her time there are too many recording sessions with strings and orchestras. I always prefer singers with smaller ensembles (preferably the only things with strings being guitars and double bass). My two favourites are “The Swingin’ Miss D” and “Jazz Sides of Miss D” the latter of which has simply the most awesome version of “Come Rain or Come Shine” that I’ve ever heard; recorded in a night club there’s a magical bit where she really cuts loose on the line “days may be cloudy or sunny” and the audience breaks into spontaneous applause. Any modern chanteuses who think they’re divas should listen to that and hang their head in shame!

There are a lot of Dinah recordings out there which makes you wonder how she found the time to get through seven husbands......what a woman!

Read this great novel!

Look at this great website

Follow my ambitious attempt to find a recipe for a cake, biscuit, pie or tart for every single one of the 39 traditional English counties!

The Caked Crusader and Boy Wonder

Cartoon by Cakeyboi

About Me

So, the answer to the question you’re all asking: who am I? Well, a superhero never reveals their identity. I think it’s stated somewhere in the contract when you sign up for superhero-dom. Let’s just call me THE CAKED CRUSADER. By day (and night if I’m being honest) a mild-mannered City professional, but at weekends I become THE CAKED CRUSADER. Tirelessly fighting anti-cake propaganda and cake-related injustices – for SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, ALWAYS NEEDS CAKE (we’ll just skip over the fact that it’s usually me).

Batman’s got the batmobile, batcave etc. Superman does just great what with being able to fly and being really strong. Spiderman’s got that web thing going on. But I have better than them. For I have a credit card and could get one of these:

The purpose of my blog is simple – to spread the word that CAKE IS GOOD.Yes, it is calorific; that is why it tastes so nice.Yes, too much of it is bad for you; that’s what ‘too much’ means.Yes, we’re all told to eat healthily and we know that we should. But ask yourself this – and look very deeply into your soul before answering – when has a cup of tea and a carrot ever cheered you up? However, put that carrot into a cake and happiness will ensue. Quod erat demonstrandum – CAKE IS GOOD.

This site will catalogue cakes I have unleashed unto the world and my thoughts thereon.

By the way, I will never recommend how many portions you should get out of a cake because we’re all different. Plus, it will be very embarrassing when I say it serves 4 and you get 20 portions out of it.

WARNING: Too much time spent on this blog may cause hunger.

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Cake Achievement in Film and Television Arts (CAFTA)

Have you seen a cake in a film or tv show that deserves recognition? Has a cupcake upstaged a beefcake?

If so, please let me know and that cake could win a coveted CAFTA award. Email me your suggestions, with a photo of the cake if possible.

About Me

I am a 40-something Chartered Accountant working in the square mile.
My main hobbies at the moment are baking, and setting the world record for the number of cake tins owned by one person.
I spend far too much time watching Spongebob Squarepants and would love to try a Krabby Patty...I know, I know - it's not real.